CLEAR Emotional Trauma and Therapy Specialists

Grant award: £10,000 towards a specialist service for adults who self-harm

In July 2022 the Charity awarded a grant of £10,000 to CLEAR Emotional Trauma and Therapy Specialists.

This money helped them to deliver their mission to reduce the harm caused by abuse, violence and other emotional trauma through 1-1 therapy and counselling for children and adults and prevention and education work in schools and communities across Cornwall.

As a result of this grant, CLEAR have been able to deliver work with young people and adults which has encouraged more positive mental health, improved emotional resilience, and reduction in anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

A total of 801 people were supported in 1-1 therapy and counselling – 426 adults, 316 children aged 0-17 and 59 parents/carers of children.

"Before CLEAR we were victims, we are no longer"

CLEAR client

Children's Therapy

Children’s therapy work

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of therapy sessions for children, reflecting the growing complexity of the trauma they’re experiencing.

This includes more cases of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Safeguarding referrals shot up by about 50% compared to the previous year, with all the children and young people starting therapy reporting low mental health levels.

176 cases were related to domestic abuse.
119 cases were related to sexual abuse.
21 cases involved other traumas like terrorism, road accidents, and traumatic bereavement.
190 clients were female, 119 male, and 7 trans/non-binary.
45 clients had a disability.
271 were white British, 12 from ethnic minority groups, and for 33, ethnicity was unknown.
84 reported their abuse as a crime either before or during therapy.
59 parents received psycho-education support while their children were in therapy.

CLEAR is continually guided and supported by CLEAR Ideas, a group of children who have had therapy with them and now help with the charity’s development.

The team even came together online to create a song about their feelings during lockdown. You can check it out here.

They also put together a fundraising calendar featuring food that makes them feel good. You can find more about it here – https://youtu.be/RQag3rcI5PY.

They also developed a fundraising calendar based on food that made them feel good https://clearsupport.net/news/clear-ideas-feelgood-food-calendar-2022.

CLEAR was also part of the Future Hope project, which they delivered in partnership with other voluntary sector organisations through the Children and Young People’s Alliance.

Future Hope was aimed at supporting the best start in life during the Covid restrictions, from pregnancy all the way to the first day of school.

CLEAR had two main roles:

Supporting pregnant mums who had experienced abuse in previous relationships. They helped these mums process any feelings or triggers related to pregnancy, focus on their wellbeing and that of their baby, and build strong bonds post-birth.
Providing one-to-one therapy for 0-5 year olds affected by abuse or trauma due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This included issues like witnessing abuse, loss, separation, or traumatic bereavement.

The evaluation of outcomes showed that CLEAR made a positive difference for all the children and young people who completed therapy.

Parents observed even higher outcomes than the children reported, but 86% of the children and young people said they felt better and more able to cope with everyday life after therapy.

While therapy can’t erase the negative experiences or the difficulties that feelings can bring, it does help children and young people cope better, reducing the negative impact on their daily lives and future opportunities.

"I now feel like a new normal person after a very long time being locked away in myself - it is lovely to be free."

Child client

Adult Therapy

For adults, the average number of therapy sessions was 20.

Just like with the children and young people, the complexity and risk levels for adult clients went up significantly compared to previous years, including =more cases of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Out of the 426 adults who received 1-1 therapy, 47% were affected by sexual violence, 7% by domestic abuse, and 46% had been sexually abused in childhood.

Here are some more details:

22% were aged 18-24, 75% were aged 25-64, and 3% were over 65.
Of those who shared their sexual orientation, 81% were heterosexual/straight, 14% bisexual, and 5% gay/lesbian.
90% of adult clients were white British, 4% were from ethnic minority groups, and for 6%, ethnicity was unknown.
17% had a disability.
95 adults reported their abuse as a crime either before or during therapy.
82% of adults who completed their sessions reported a positive increase in mental wellbeing.

Adult art psychotherapy work

One of CLEAR’s adult clients has kindly given permission to share a poem that they wrote at the end of their counselling:

Ode to a Counsellor

You held me

With your eyes

You heard me

Your validated

You understood

You shared

You listened

You led me

Away

And towards

A new day

Besides their work with survivors of sexual abuse and violence, CLEAR also provided specialist support in two other key areas.

First, they helped 80 adults who were long-term unemployed. Many of these individuals had experienced trauma that made it hard for them to find and keep a job. The feedback was really positive, showing that the support not only boosted their mental health and emotional wellbeing but also helped them become more independent and improved their future prospects by enabling them to work.

Second, CLEAR supported people who were clinically extremely vulnerable during the Covid pandemic. These individuals faced extra challenges when trying to return to a ‘post-Covid’ lifestyle. CLEAR offered a mix of counselling and wellbeing support, along with practical activities to help build their confidence and connections.

“Thank you for your kindness. I didn’t realise I was on this journey until I reached my destination.

Now I feel OK to be okay. I don’t feel alone. I’m happy and know who I am.”

Adult client

“I have been able to notice that my physical health and mental health are linked and by working on my health concerns and trauma I am feeling better as a whole person. Thank you.”

Adult client